300,00 people and us

The Binkowski family went to Disney World for New Year's eve. We didn't know that it was one of the most popular days to attend Disney parks, but that did not stop us from having a great time. Since we stayed at the Polynesian resort, we took advantage of special late night hours for the parks and used the monorail for our transportation.

More photos to follow from our awesome trip!! Thanks to Grandma and Papa for taking us!

Cute, I am

May the Force be with you.

Disney World 2010

Family trip to Disney World... yes, we all had matching t-shirts with Mickey on them.

Click here to see Loran's video

Sophie really enjoys laying on her back in the pool.

Sophie loves Florida weather

Like Father, Like Daughter

Rodger and Sophie wore matching lime green outfits one day down here in sunny Southwest Florida.  He bought this new shirt while golfing at Shadow Wood with Dad.  Sophie's outfit was a gift from Grandma. It's green capri pants... something that Grandmas loves to wear herself!  

Sophie on the lanai

Everyone loves a little nap on the lanai.  Sophie really enjoyed this part of her vacation.

Christmas Day 2009

On Christmas Day, we celebrated with dinner at Edith's house.  Rodger and Dad had to put out a small fire, literally, when the gas grill had a faulty valve.  It was a bit scary for about 3 minutes, but the meal itself was wonderful.  The steaks were cooked across the street!!  Sophie was looking beautiful wearing her new hairbows and favorite plaid dress. 

Christmas Morning

Sophie and Grandma had a lot of great bonding time at Christmas in Florida.

Sophie's first swim

Sophie's first swim.  Bathing suit from Jamie in Australia. She LOVED the water and was even dunked all of the way under!  Water temperature was 88 degrees.

Christmas Eve 2009

Sophie is getting ready for midnight mass.  We put her in her Rudolph jammies and left for church at 10:00 pm.  She slept through the entire thing, and we arrived home at 2:00 am.  It was a nice experience, but never again will Valerie go to midnight mass.  It is definitely too late for her and for the rest of the family.

Grandma's Apple Strudel

Mom and Valerie attempted to make Grandma's apple strudel.  It tasted great, but we weren't quite able to get the dough as thin as Grandma got.  We will definitely try it again next year!

Key West Day Trip

Rodger and Valerie celebrated their first anniversary by going to Key West for a day.  We took the ferry from Ft. Myers, and arrived there around lunch time.  Rodger enjoyed his fruity drink Pina Colada and conch fritters.  We also took the Hemingway House tour and walked around Duval Street.  It was a nice way to celebrate our one year together.

Winter Wonderland 2009

The Gueberts and the Englers went to Navy Pier to celebrate this holiday season. Here are a few pictures. Sophie loved it... though I think she loved sleeping more!!

Sophie - 3 months

Now that Sophie is three months old, her neck is stable enough to sit up. Her newest favorite item is the bumbo. She can now sit on the dinner table and chat with us OR, as Grandma Janis has figured out, she can sit on the couch and watch cartoons on TV. You've got to love the Bumbo!

What's going on with Watson???

Watson has learned how to successfully ride in a car. He now lays down in the back seat next to Sophie's car seat and just take a name while he rides. No more does he try to sit in the front or whine. However, occasionally he will lick Rodger's head while driving just to remind him that he's back there!Watson has enjoyed all of the Christmas decorations. At first, we were quite nervous to have him around the tree. Overall, he's been great. He DOES mark his spot outside on other people's Christmas lights and he DOES like to take an occasional nibble off of one of the snowman ornaments. Unfortunately, we have also caught him several times humping the life sized snowman plush toy that sits in our front walkway. Well, at least we know that Watson likes Frosty.


Waston has had a challenging month. In mid-November, he developed "hot spots". We took him to the vet and received medication for his open wounds. Then, he had an allergic reaction to something. So, he receives Benedryl daily. (he doesn't mind it since he gets a piece of cheese to get it down). Then, he came down with a double ear infection. Lastly, he's now got a swollen paw and a scratched cornea. I'm telling you... it's been a rough one for him lately!

Christmas Couture

If you thought Sophie had a lot of Halloween outfits, you should check out her Christmas couture. Just like her mommy when she was little, Sophie could have gone for three weeks and not repeated a Christmas outfit! Here are a few...

Sophia's Baptism

Sophia Ann was baptized on Valerie and Rodger's one year anniversary, December 20th.  Her godfather is Uncle David and her godmother is sister Loran.  The family celebrated with a brunch at the View (where Santa made his appearance).  Sophie is now officially welcomed into the Catholic church.

Brunch with Santa

Holiday 2009

Big, BIG smiles

Daddy stayed home one day with Sophie and they had good tummy time. Sophie likes it when Daddy plays with her!!

Babysitting

Sophie starts day care in January. Until then, Sophie has been watched by her grandparents. We have been so grateful that Grandma Janis has come up to stay with us and watch her for about 7 days in the month of December. Also, Grandma and Papa have watched Sophie at their house. Sometimes, it's been a challenge to watch both Sophie and her cousin Oscar together on the same day, but somehow, it all worked out. Thank you SO much to Grandma, Papa, and especially Grandma Janis for babysitting Sophie for us this month.

Family Entertainment

Sophie LOVES when Auntie Kay Kay and Grandma Janis sing Christmas songs to her.

We tried...

Oh, how wonderful our Christmas card would have been if we could have figured out a way to have Sophie smiling and Watson looking at the camera with the Christmas tree in the background. Note to new parents: this is nearly impossible. Yet, we did spend at least three evenings in December giving it our best effort. Out of all of the photos, this was as good as we could get.